Recently I joined a yarn club. I am not a joiner, so this took a lot of thought. I chose Spirit Trail Fiberworks because I love the Thoreau quotation, and the Spirit Trail Pathway explanation by Noel Bennett on the home page!
THE SPIRIT TRAIL
The basis of the Weavers’ Pathway concept is the traditional Navaho fear of being enclosed on all sides with no way of escape . . . the fear of enclosure is extended to weaving when a border surrounds the design.
In Navaho, two words are employed to indicate the consequences of weaving a rug with an enclosed border. They are adii je tlo, “too much weaving,” a concept involving sickness of body, and adaage de tlo, “close yourself in,” which can be considered a sickness of mind or spirit . . .
And so a complex concept emerges from a seemingly simple line – a concept involving the weaver’s fear that in channeling all her energies and mental resources into a rug with an enclosing border, she may encircle and thereby entrap her spirit, mind, energies and design.
In jeopardy are future loom experiences: the continuous use of design, the well being of weaving muscles, and of paramount concern, her vision and sanity.
The moment of Pathway is the moment of liberation, of peace, of serenity – and a wish for the future: may the next weaving be even better.
Noel Bennett, “The Weaver’s Pathway: A Clarification of the ‘Spirit Trail’ in Navaho Weaving,” Northland Press, 1987.
It helps that the service and product line is great! Jennifer Heverly carries spinning fibres that are hard to find elsewhere – black Gotland fleece, Ronaldsay from The Orkneys, and Arapawa, for examples – and she is always quick to respond to email questions. Her dyeing is beautiful and her yarns are of good quality. I wanted the surprise of working with a yarn that I would not seek out in my yarn store. On Thursday afternoon I got my wish, along with a challenge! I picked up a little package at the post office from the yarn club, month #2, and found a beautiful hank of Holda – lambswool, angora, and cashmere blend. . . . 295 yards . . . .’This is why I joined’, I reminded myself. The surprise I wasn’t ready for was that it was green!
I knew that if I didn’t cast on at that moment, this lovely yarn, that is also green, would get stashed and never knit. . . . . 295 yards means fingerless gloves, cowls, hats. . . . Help please Ravelry! I quickly logged in, and searched by yardage and weight, leading me to a sweet shawlette called Cristata, by Susanna IC. I purchased the pattern on line, cast on impetuously, that means no swatching! and 12 hours later I had a shawl that I will likely wear. I just need a little time to ease into the green idea. . . .
